Significance of Face Mask against coronavirus

To answer the query of what face masks actually do against coronavirus, a group of German doctors performed an experiment. They set a circled-shaped mirror in the background, which, combined with a unique photography technique, lets you see the airflow. 

In this case, it indicates the distance traveled by the air particles when someone breathes. And when they cough, which allows the respiratory particles to move further and faster. The experiment also looks on when someone coughs into one's hand and onto the elbow. And the result also shows the travel of air particles when coughing with two types of masks: dust and a surgical mask. 

It is not a scientific study. It just shows something that masks are capable of: They inhibit the respiratory particles flow. But if you were told to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it will probably depend on where you live. In some East Asian countries, wearing a face mask is already common practice. Some European countries have also started to require the use of masks in public spaces. 

But the federal government's message in the United States is inconsistent. A spokesperson of White House on coronavirus task force mentioned, "There is no reason to walk with a mask, it does not provide the perfect protection that people think it offers. While the U.S. surgeon general said that the CDC recommends covering your face with face cloth coverings in public spaces, where further measures of social distance are difficult to maintain. Whereas the President called it "voluntary". 

Unless you live in a place that requires wearing a mask, whether or not you do so is your's choice. But deciding for yourself is much easier if you understand the significance of wearing them. And what they cannot.

What the Experts Agree on: If you are ill and leave the house, you ought to wear a mask as it helps contain germs. Most of the uncertainty surrounding the masks is related to another question: if healthy people should also use them. However, this distinction between patients of COVID-19 and healthy is more complicated than it seems.

On average, people contracting COVID-19 are asymptotic for 5-6 days, and until 14 days, but they are contagious before that. And, according to what we now know, 25% of those infected have no symptoms, but they are also infectious. I mean, especially with COVID-19, feeling healthy does not necessarily mean that you do not have the disease.

"I think we must all act, and also assume that we are infected," are the words of a global public health expert. Being asymptomatic is one of the best reasons for everyone to wear masks. "Those who are really infected and don't know, or have almost no symptoms, primarily, it's not even about their own health, it is for the health of family and neighbors."

But let's assume that you definitely don't have the virus. The first thing you need to be aware of is that no mask can guarantee that you will be safe from the pandemic. Instead, the best way to think about facial masks is as part of a broader set of protective measures besides hand washing and social distancing. Used along, they don't protect you completely, but they significantly reduce your risk of infection.

Experts term face mask, social distancing and hand-washing as a protective triad in which the virus try to infiltrate. And if you don't have one of the obstacles, then you don't protect yourself completely. And if you don't have a mask, would you do well with hand-washing social distancing? Absolutely, but having all three is pivotal. 

Two ways of COVID-19 transmission

To understand how it works, let's take a look at the dichotomy of COVID-19 transmission. One is to touch an infected surface and subsequently, the face. This is called fomite transmission. Frequent hand washing is the best defense against this type of transmission. But the correct wearing of masks also has played a function: The masks do an excellent job of preventing you from touching your face.

The second way a person's respiratory particles can reach is direct transmission. So a slow-speed recording of a sneeze shows the types of respiratory particles emitted, and how far they travel. From a sick person, these drops are filled with millions of viral particles that fall a short distance and infect wherever they land. 

Social distancing protects us from viral particles by staying away from emitted particles through coughing, sneezing, or even talking. But face masks come handy too: So, if someone sneezes a few feet from you, it will protect you from the bigger splashes. It also means that face masks are particularly crucial for people who are not privileged to distance themselves socially: "Like police, supermarket cashiers, taxis, Uber, and UPS. 

Anyone who comes into contact with a significant chunk of people and they cannot always keep a distance of two meters. The slow-motion video of sneeze shows that we also produce these small, long-range particles; they evaporate and can leave the virus suspended in the air. They are called aerosols. And we don't have the exact idea of how infectious they are to ordinary people. 

But experts believe they pose a threat to healthcare workers, working near Covid-19 patients. If you are near a patient who is coughing while trying to intubate him or her, the aerosols are spreading everywhere. For you and me, walking yourself and the dog, going to the market, the risk is much higher with fomites. 

N95 is the standard mask that protects against aerosols. The name comes from the material's ability to filter 95% of aerosol particles. It is also designed to seal the mouth and nose, so there are no leaks. In many places, the N95 are scarce due to a decrease in government stocks and supply chain interruptions. And this applies to all disposable masks, not just N95s.

That is why the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that unless you are a healthcare professional, you should not wear a surgical or N95 mask. They are needed in hospitals, and a simple cloth mask can give the level of protection that most people need. The CDC recommends any type of tightly-knitted cotton fabric for the cover, including a T-shirt.

A proper way of wearing Masks

You can prepare them by going through the unlimited tutorials on the Internet or buy them from the manufacturing vendors. But they only work if you use them properly. That's all it takes to wear it: Hold it by the ends, keep your hands away from the center. Place it on your nose and mouth, pass it by the ears. 

Be careful not to touch it when you are away from home. Keep your hands away from your face. When you return, after walking or shopping, do the same in reverse. Set it aside, don't play with it. And then at the end of the day, put it in the washing machine.

Washing of Face Masks

You should wash them every night. And, if you don't have the machine, you can wash them by hand every night. They are tiny and will be dry the next morning. So it would be better for people if they have a couple of them. But in case of a single one, wash it at night.

Conclusion

In the fight against COVID-19, face masks emphasize something important: It's not always about protecting yourself, it's about keeping people around you safe. And if all of us do it, we all protect each other. There is a visual message that comes from wearing a mask: a reminder to everyone that we are not in regular times. Everyone must do what they can to protect themselves and others.